Dislocation Emission at the Silicon/Silicon Nitride Interface: A Million Atom Molecular Dynamics Simulation on Parallel Computers

Mechanical behavior of the $\mathrm{Si}\left(111\right)/{\mathrm{Si}}_3{\mathrm{N}}_4\left(0001\right)$ interface is studied using million atom molecular dynamics simulations. At a critical value of applied strain parallel to the interface, a crack forms on the silicon nitride surface and moves toward the interface. The crack does not propagate into the silicon substrate; instead, dislocations are emitted when the crack reaches the interface. The dislocation loop propagates in the $\left(\overline{1}\overline{1}1\right)$ plane of the silicon substrate with a speed of $500(\pm 100)\mathrm{m}/\mathrm{s}$. Time evolution of the dislocation emission and nature of defects is studied.